Top 11 Best Rare Levels to play on Halloween

#10. STOP & GO STATION (DONKEY KONG COUNTRY)

While players would become familiar with touring spanning Caverns in Donkey Kong Country, nothing could have prepared them for the horrors inside the Stop & Go Station. As the name suggests, Donkey and Diddy have to routinely stop their sprinting to switch varying lights in the cave from green to red, otherwise they’ll have a chance meeting with the Rockkrocs; extremely agile bulky Kremlings with glowing red eyes. Switching the lights to red will cause the Rockkrocs to curl into a ball, allowing a limited time for Donkey and Diddy to scream in defiance as they rush by. Once the light changed back, the Rockkrocs will rise back up and continue their eternal pacing in the cavern. Just waiting. Bloodthirsty as ever. Fortunately there’s a shortcut in the beginning of the level that can be found if you turn around on the spot and rush out the front door, something DK and Diddy have wanted to do the second they walked into the Station.

#9. CLICK CLOCK WOOD (BANJO-KAZOOIE)

Nightmares aside, Halloween also brings with it the seasonal, transition of a much welcomed Summer to the slushy misery we’ve dubbed Winter. And akin to its trio of brothers, Autumn is represented in Click Clock Wood where it holds all of the seasons staples. Rush into the entrance and you’ll spot massive piles of freshly raked leaves with many more to come based on the eternal falling from above. The music complements the atmosphere wonderfully, with its fair share of chirping frogs and rapid woodpeckers. Everything prepares for the upcoming winter; Nabnut gathers a wealth of tasty nuts for the harsh months ahead, Mumbo-Jumbo tries fruitlessly to clear the leaves from his hut and Gnawty the beaver stands by the boulder blocking his home, looking a bit daft where he would likely freeze to death were it not for intervention from the Bear and Bird duo. Give this one a play during the dwindling days of October and you’ll see why Click Clock Woods Autumn falls into place to set the perfect mood.

#8. FUNGI FOREST (DONKEY KONG 64)

While this fantastical bit of sauce from Donkey Kong 64 might seem an unlikely contender with its massive mushrooms and upbeat melody, its true colors show when the sun has set and the horrors are unleashed upon the DK Crew. Skeleton Kremlings now roam freely under the moonlight, the music has taken a sinister turn while hooting owls and howling werewolves can be heard in the distance. The atmosphere isn’t the only thing that’s changed; there are several new areas that have opened up while the sunlit spots have been locked up for the night. During this midnight romp, you’ll get to explore the bat infested rafters and mill with Diddy and Lanky, take a manic minecart ride with Chunky and even wage battle against a massive Spider queen and her equally terrifying league of expendable Spider minions. You’re free to change night into day if you’d like, but if it’s all 201 Golden Bananas you seek, you’ll have to brave this fright night. Speaking of Golden…

#7. STATUE PARK (GOLDENEYE 007)

If there’s anything that makes James Bond shaken rather than stirred, it’s likely his mammoth mission in Statue Park. Armed only with his trusty standard issue PP7, Bond was tasked with traversing through the grounds of the fallen Soviet Union under the cover of darkness with enemies shooting first at every turn. With the abandoned relics and monuments left behind it nearly resembles a graveyard, which isn’t much of a stretch honestly. The atmosphere is perfected when it comes to the music however, which drones on with an eerie and unsettling melody. While the James Bond inaugural theme does fit triumphantly in the middle of the score, it doesn’t provide much solace to a paranoid mind. To cap it all off, Bond comes face to face with former 006 partner Trevelyan here whom he saw killed earlier on, and even introduces himself as “back from the dead“. If that’s not enough to start shooting widly while screaming “Zombie!”, then we don’t know what is…

#6. HAUNTED WOODS (DIDDY KONG RACING)

We’ve already established that Diddy Kong Racing is a beast hidden beneath fur and smiles when it comes to the Silver Coin Challenges, but things take a turn to the outright terrifying during the laps around Haunted Woods in Dragon Forest. After all of the villagers have gone to bed, Diddy and crew race through the ghost town and then take a detour through the forest where the course derives its name. Bobbing just above the track and laughing with insanity are several dismembered and ghostly Wizpig heads. Rather than take a quick pit stop and return to Timber Island with their tails between their legs, the crew barrels down the track towards a dungeon which features even more Wizpig heads, crossing the finish line and then facing it all over again, for three more laps. If you manage to complete Dragon Forest and return to Timber Island you’ll watch as the Wizpig statue springs to life and laughs maniacally as well. Best of luck on that whole “sleeping” thing…

#5. HAUNTED HALL (DONKEY KONG COUNTRY 2: DIDDY’S KONG QUEST)

Taking place after Gloomy Gulch, where the scariest thing presented were wispy Ghost Ropes, the Haunted Hall grabs you while your defenses are down and never lets go. You’ll be tasked with riding a rickety roller coaster to its end, all while being pursued by a skeletal specter called Kackle who will eventually catch up with the cart and grab one of the Kongs before cackling fitting while throwing them off the tracks. Your only hope of escaping Kackles klutches is to grab every barrel decorated with a positive icon that you possibly can, as doing so will increase your time by a tiny margin, which could very well save your life. Hit too many negative barrels along the way however and you’ll find your time fleeting fast. Your only moment of relief will be found after bursting through a series of double doors where Kackle is left behind, only to come back for more as you travel down the track. Should you escape you’ll keep your freedom, but not your sanity, as his manic laughter echoes on.

#4. CREEPY CASTLE (DONKEY KONG 64)

Near enough to the full moon that you could almost touch it, you’ll find this ancient acropolis just waiting to be explored by each and every Kong. Venture inside the haunted Ballroom as Diddy and you’ll hear the aloof laughter that lingers on from a royal banquet, Donkey Kong explores a forgotten Library archive hosting a plethora of bloodthirsty flying books while Chunky Kong checks up on the mysteries inside the Museum. Lanky gets to ascend the harrowing heights of the tallest tower and at the base of the castle Tiny Kong floats across a large pool of slime, with a little help from gnarled hands that rise from the deep. All of the Kongs are invited to the crypt, which hosts a massive bony structure with a minicart minigame that sees the return of a Kackle-like skeleton pursuit through a graveyard. Each area features its own haunting take on the Creepy Castle melody, and for such a massive manor it might just take all Halloween night to explore, time well spent to be sure!

#3. SPOOKY CHAPTER (CONKERS BAD FUR DAY/LIVE AND RELOADED)

After Conker’s latest half-baked antics with the Uga Buga tribe, the sobering squirrel soon finds himself in front of his great ancestors mansion with aid from Greg the Grim Reaper. Before he can have a heartwarming reunion however, he’ll have to brave a cemetery section filled to the brim with undead squirrels that have risen from the grave and have taken to shambling towards anything living. After a particularly gory session it’s to the mansion we stroll where Conker pays tribute to classic horror films like Dracula and Frankenstein before assisting his great ancestor in bat-form by rounding up a collection of protesting villagers to drop into a giant grinder. In order to escape this manic mansion, Conker is left to carry on through its hallowed halls in hopes of finding the three keys to unlock the door – leaving out the Key of A.C.G of course – by taking out even more zombie Squirrels in timely fashion, and then escaping into the dead of night. This is one chapter you don’t want to miss!

#2. GHOULHAVEN HALL (GRABBED BY THE GHOULIES)

You’d be hard-pressed to find a title from Rare more fitting to get you into the holiday spirit than Grabbed by the Ghoulies. Skeletons, Ghosts, Zombies, Mummies, Vampires, Vampire Chickens, Zombie Pirates and more can be found in Ghoulhaven Hall where leading star Cooper will have to brave all 100 rooms including – but certainly not limited to – a Spider-filled Basement, a hostile Infirmary, a Ghouly Greenhouse and a cluttered Attic in order to escape into the night with his girlfriend Amber. It’s difficult to pick just one level to play, as the entire game takes place in a different room that offers up its own shocking surprises and creepy confrontations. Not to mention that the entire game can be finished in just under 2 hours if you manage to employ the correct strategies, which means you’ll have a Halloween night filled with screams of terror – from Cooper of course – during this haunted house romp. Do http://www.raregamer.co.uk/view_news.php?id=164[linkname]anything you can to get this one in your library, it’s worth its weight in Ghoulies.

#1. MAD MONSTER MANSION (BANJO-KAZOOIE)

Our go-to choice for getting us into the Halloween spirit for now and possibly the next decade is Mad Monster Mansion from Banjo-Kazooie. Here the duo are tasked with exploring a mansion filled to the brim with ghastly ghouls as well as the surrounding property which offered up their own varying challenges. Along the way Banjo and Kazooie will play a bit of Ouija Board in an old run down shack, venture into the cellar, find their way through a haunted hedge maze and break into a massive Church inside the cemetery for some Organ playing, just to name a few. Each area also includes its own unique sounding theme which mixes the perfect blend of creepy and kooky that will have you listening intently into the night. Mumbo-Jumbo also turns the duo into a living Jack O’ Lantern that gets itself into some pretty narrow spaces, including the inside of a well, underneath the floorboards and even down a toilet. Save this one for Halloween and you’ll be in for a treat!

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